Russia Releases American Citizen Stephen Hubbard After US Envoy Talks
Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher, was detained in Ukraine and later convicted in Russia of being a mercenary.
President Vladimir Putin announced the release of American citizen Stephen Hubbard from Russian detention on Wednesday, coinciding with the start of talks with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff. Hubbard, 74, a retired schoolteacher, was released after being held and subsequently convicted in Russia.
Washington designated Hubbard as wrongfully detained in January 2025, a classification that allowed the U.S. government to pursue negotiations for his release. The State Department indicated that Russia had not granted U.S. officials consular access to Hubbard. According to The New York Times, Hubbard was moved through at least five Russian detention centers before his trial, with his legal team learning in April 2025 that he was being held in a facility in the Mordovia region, east of Moscow.
Hubbard, originally from Big Rapids, Michigan, served in the U.S. Air Force and National Guard. He earned a master's degree in English and lived in Japan for 25 years, teaching the language. He later moved to Cyprus and then to Izyum in eastern Ukraine in 2014 with a Ukrainian partner. His sister, Patricia Hubbard Fox, stated that Hubbard subsisted on a pension and had few local connections.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, capturing Izyum two months later. Hubbard was reportedly in Russian custody by September 2022, when Ukrainian forces retook the city. Russian state media reported his detention in April 2022, alleging he was manning a Ukrainian military checkpoint. The circumstances of his capture could not be independently verified.
His sister recognized him in a YouTube video being questioned about his political views and in another with his hands bound, being struck. His U.S.-based lawyer, Martin De Luca, told Reuters in June 2025 that Hubbard had claimed the charges against him were false and that he had not been part of any combat or military unit, stating Russian soldiers had taken him from his home.
Following a closed trial, a Moscow court convicted Hubbard in October 2024 of being a mercenary, sentencing him to six years and 10 months in prison. Prosecutors asserted that Hubbard had joined a Ukrainian territorial defense unit, received training and weapons, and was promised a monthly salary. Russian state media reported that he had pleaded guilty to the charges. However, Hubbard's sister expressed doubts about a confession, citing his pro-Russian sentiments and questioning his likelihood of engaging in combat at his age.
